heath



Feb. 27, 1923;

1,446,795 S. HEATH VARIABLE FITCH PROPELLER Filed July 2, 1919 2 sheets-sheet l NVENTR. 6 dal gea/z5 ATTORNEYS.

I Feb. 27, 1923. 1,446,795

S. HEATH VARIABLE FITCH PROPELLER Filed July-2, 1919 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

PnentedFesz?, 1923. 1,446,795

UNITED STAT-Es vParser oFFIc-r..

SPENCER HEATH, OF BALTIMORE, TEARYLAND.

VARIABLE.-PI'ICH` PROPELLER.

Application led July 2, 1919. Serial No. 308,112.

T allwhom z' may concern: solutely prevent accidental displacement 50 Be it known that I, SPENCER HEATH, a thereof. citizen of the United States, residing at In order that my invention may be readily Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented understood, reference is had to-the accom.'- certain new and useful Improvements in panying' drawings, forming part of this Variable-Pitch Propellers, of which the folspecification, and in which 55 l lowing is a specification. Fig. l is an end elevation, partly in sec- This invention relates to propellers, and tion, of my improved propeller hub and asmore particularly to aerial propellers. j sociated parts; .In certain classes of air work, it is eX- Fig. 2 is a view of the same, half in horitreniely desirable to be able to vary the VAZontal section and half in plan; 60 pitch or angle of the blades while the pro- Figs. 3 and l` are sections on the line peller is running, to Icompensate for dif- X-X of Fig. l looking respectively to the ferent conditions of engine speed'or atmosright and the left; and y l5 plieric density. In other classes of work, AFigs. 5 and 6 are elevations showing my such as in the control of dirigibles, and in improved band brake mechanism in inop- 65 checking the speed of air planes when land-v operative and operative positions, respecing on a comparatively restricted surface, tively. Y L as, for example, the deck of a ship,it be- Referringto the drawings in detail, my 2O comes important to completely reverse the improved propeller comprises a hub l,shown propeller blades, so as to change thel direcas cylindrical, and provided at its ends with 70 tion of thrust. Y a pair of tubular sockets adapted to receive While it has heretofore been proposed to the ends of the propeller blades, two such constructI propellers so that the pitch of the blades being shown. The hub is provided blades can be adjusted, the adjustment has,v at its center' with a transversely extending;

' in most cases, been limited toL a comparatapered socket 2 adapted to receive the 75 -tively small angle. In prior devices, too, gine'shaft 3, to which the hub is secured by the adjusting mechanism has included parts means of a nut .3a. The socket member 2 constantly in frictional engagement, and the is extended rearwardly as indicated at 4. in high speed of the propeller has vproven so Fig. 2, for a purpose which will hereafter destructive to the contact surfaces as to appear. 80 render such arrangements impractical. `Each propeller blade 5 is received in a The objects of the present invention, cylindrical ferrule 6, in which it isrsecured therefore, are to provide a propeller conby means of wedges 7, the internal diameter struction in which the blades can be comof the ferrule being somewhat enlarged at pletely adjusted 'or turned through 3600 in its inner end for this purpose. The ferrules 85 either direction, and in which allV parts be- 6 are capable of rotation within the .tubutween which there is relatiif'emovement are lar sockets formed by the hub l and are normally out of contact, being brought into held therein by means of anti-friction thrust 40 engagementzonly momentarily. at the timebearings 9 interposed between the outer ends the adjustment takes place. To this end I ci the ferrules and retaining' rings 8. which 90 have devised an improved arrangement Yof are screw-threaded to the ends of the hub. gearing by means of which rotation ofthe .In order to angularly adjust or rotate the Y engine shaft in the same direction serves to ferrules. and blades upon their own axes. I

' 45 turn thebladeadjusting mechanism in either secure an annular internal ejear l() in the direction, at will, such gearing' includinga, inner end of. each ferrule. Meshing; with 95 reversing` device, and also a worm and worm this annular gear .are a pair of diametriwheel, which latter serves to lock or hold cally opposed pinlons l1 secured to stubV the blades in adjusted position, and abshafts 12, journaled in a. iixed annularframe a sprocketnheel- 2B, ,rigidly conne a sleevell, carrying atitsendalirale dr in 2T. A sprocket chain Q2 passesarfiiind 'the two slirockets and 4the sproclifet" vivlieelw 23. thus gearing them positivelyftogether@ tween these'worm wheels and meshing there.`

with is a Worin 16, having crossed threads,

as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4. One

of the threads is adapted to engagewithone of the Worm Wheels and the other thread is adapted to engage the other worm Wheel, the threads being' ot opposite pitch, so that when the worm revolves, the worm 'i'sf'heels Willbe driven in such .a direction as to cause the pinions llf'to turn the annular' gear 120 in the same direction,v .It willbeobserved that this `double tl-iread'fisnecessfi 'vll' si thread would drive `the pinioiislilflf a directiomthat Athey would tend to turn the annular gear 10inV opposite directions,pl thus resulting in an' inoperative arrangemen By the use `of, my novelfdoublethreaded Worm, the pinionsare caused to rotate Ain the properdirections;1A

The worin 16 is secured to a shafftt ex'- tending transversely through fthe hub and journaled inbosses 18= carried` ,by thev ring;`

The rear eudslot the. shaftsul' project beyondy the hub,v andto,.the'proj'ectQ ing end of each shaft are secured a pinl between. the pinions V19 andiii'finesh there,y A- .i .i. with isa gear 21. loosely .gournaledl on the extensionllv of the shaftlsoeket l Rigidly connected. vwith the".4 gear 21,`is..afslee\jez Q1 carryingkat its endagbralre drnm 26. l

lhile l have shown the` sleeveii 4as carried `by and journaledl on .the hub e'ezj,

tensionl 4 it will be `understood ythat'lthis sleeve maybe mounted'upon-the shaft' itself or4 other `memberrigid, with fth'eA hub sockets l and rotatable therewith about I the saine axis. The essential thing'is that the` sleeve @ft-is wholly siniiportedby. such mem-"j ber and lnormally, rotates with i'tlso thatf there is nogconstuitfrunningly friction be-j tween anv. movable :parts of 'the blade i ad`4 justingr-inechanisnnA and. any fixed `parts or elements. s

Freely Ajournaled upon thefsleege cted'- ivitli From the trlireggoingit ivill lieevident 'that rotation otthegear 21 v`andtheconeentric sprocket WheelA 23 in thesame direction Willi turn the/,shafts 17min opposite` direct In other iv ordstlie giearA U'and 'i sociated pinion. ,fandzthesp ticket,

y y 41. 20 an dy Q'S'ivith ytheir "liainZ cnsti'tiite reverse gearing by means of which the shafts 17 may be rotated 1n either direction,

rifle. as will be= obvious, a. .Worm Withe singley through the rotation o'fthe engine shaft in one direc-tion.

Co-operating with the brake drums 26 and 27, which rot-ate With the propeller, are relatively fixed brake bands 28 and 29. fzTliese two bands have one end lixed, as, 'for example, by being secured to a pivot pin "30,' set'into an enclosing housing The iifother .ends .`-31."and :32"Uthe brake'bands V28and 29,respectively7 are secured to pins projecting'frorri'fdier opposite sides of a Y- shaped lever- 33;, m0unted on the pivot pin 30 and provided Withnn operating handle 34? The housing whichcarries the piv "fot-pin 30.1is suitably supported on apart Stof the engine Vframe, l f The reversing' gear `case or hoiis'ingg', having a'lange'BS shaped "toffit the'hub 1,'and secured thereto. Normally, With the lever Si in the een 5 both hrakebandsQS and 29 are out of con- -tact with their respective drums, and aro separated'therefrornby a suitable clearance. When the propeller y is running, therefore,

there are noparts in friction'al contact, and hence no excessnf'e jwear. lVhen' it is desired to angularlvy adjust` or turn the propeller blades on ltheir aires,V the lever 23341 is r,thrownto one side "or the other, as indi- 4rc'ated in 6, thus tightening' oneor the '.`,toenga'ge`its respectivejjdruni. Since the Twill beevident that as soon as thefriction between :a brake band and its drumk isisnt- I xfficient tolietaid theffree movement" of the drum, thev drum ,will caused to slow up leiiginewshalt andpropeller'are rotating,` it

lit'lyiove described is'also enclosed vithin a.

` tral or neutral position, assliovvn in Fig.

ion 19 anda-a s1n'ocket-wheel Q0. VMountedfoth'er of theljirake bands and Acausing it'` i ie nearingr or the-sprocket wheels, thereby prov ducing angular displacement otthe propeller blades in one direction or the other.y asdesiredwg l' It will be particularlyobserved'that with my in'iproved.construction there is no limit to thenmount of rotatioii i'ivhicliv may be imparted to the,- propeller l'ilades. the extent of .tu rning being,rr simply 'dependentl l lpon the length of.timethatthe brake band is held infengz'lgement )vi'thlitsidrumy Owing to the reduction'Vgearmg` fbetween lthe drums and number. of 'f revolutions "of the vshafts 17 is nece'ssa'ry inorderto produce acompan atively small displacement of the blades. Furthermore it will be observed that by the simple expedient of using the worm and worm Wheels, I secure a positive lock, for effectively holding the blades in adjusted position and preventing accidental displacement. By employing' two worm wheels and two pinions arranged on opposite sides of the axes :of rota-tion, l produceY a balanced couple and thus avoid danger of cramping or binding, such as might result from the application'of power to one point only of the annular gear l0,

What l claim is zl. The combina-tion with a propeller having a hub, and angularly adjustable blades mounted. therein, of means for angularly adjusting the blades comprising an element supported directly on and wholly by said hub and rotatable therewith, a relatively fixed element normally out of contact with said hub-carried element, and means for bringing said elements in to operative engagement when it is desired to actuate said adjusting means.

2. The combination with a propeller having hub sockets, of blades having shanks angularly adjustable in said sockets, and means for angularly adjusting said blades, said means comprising a rotary element supported wholly ona member rigid with said hub sockets and rotatable therewith about the same axis, a relatively fired element normally out of contact with said rotary element, and means 'for bringing'said fixed and rotary elements into engagement to actuate said adjusting means. y

3. The. combination withapropeller having angularly adjustable blades, of mechanism for adjusting said blades in either direction while the propeller is running, said e kmechanism comprising stationary and rotary elements normally out of contact, and means, controllable at will, for bringing said elements into engagement to actuate said adjusting mechanism. i

4l. The combination with a propeller having angularly adjustable blades, of mechanism for adjusting said blades in either direction while the propeller is running, said mechanism comprising a pair of elements rotating with the propeller, relatively stationary manually controlled means normally out of Contact with said rotary elements, and means for selectively bringing' said manually controlled means into engagement with one or the other of said rotary elements'y to actuate'said adjusting mechanism as desired.

5. A propeller having angularly adjusti able blades, a` power shaft on which said propeller is inountedand means for adjusting said blades while theV propeller is iii motion, such meansjcomprising gearing carried by the propeller hub, and means controlled at willand operable Wholly by the rotation of saidv power shaft, for rotating Y said gearing in either direction.

tionary and Yrotary elements normally out of contact, and means controllable at will, for bringing said elements into engagement to actuate said adjusting mechanism.

'7. The combination with a propeller having angularly adjustable blades, of a power shaft on which said propeller'is mounted, and mechanism operable wholly by the rotation of said power shaft in the same direction for adjusting said blades in either direction, said mechanism comprising a pair4 of stationary elements and a pair of elements rotating with the power shaft, said stationary and rotary elements being normally out of contact, and means controllable at will, for selectively bringing one of said stationary and rotary elements into engagement to actuate said,adjusting'mechanisnr 8. The combination with a propeller having angularly adjustable blades, of a power shaft on which sai-d propeller is mounted, and mechanism operable wholly by the rotation ofsaid power shaft in the same direction for adjusting said blades in either direction, said mechanism comprising a pair of elements rotating with the power shaft, and manually controlled relatively stationary means for selectively engaging and retarding one or the other of said rotary elements to actuate said adjusting mechanism said rotary and being` normally out of contact.

9. A propeller having angularly adjustable blades, and means for adjusting the same while the propeller is in motion, such means comprising gearingcarried by the propeller hub, and means controllable at will and operable by rotation ofthe engine o relatively stationary means Ashaft. for driving saidgearing in veither direction.

10.--A propeller having angularly adjustable blades, apower shaft on which the propeller hub is mounted` and means for adjusting said blades while the propeller is in motiom'such means comprising gearing carried by said propeller hub, and mechanism controllable at-will and operable by rotation of the power shaft for driving said gearing in either direction.

l1. A propeller havingangularly adjustable blades, and means foradjusting the same while the propeller is in motion, such means comprising gearing carried by the propeller hub, and means for causing the rotation ofthe engine shaft in one direction to drive said gearing in either direction. e

v12. A propeller having blades completely mounted,` and :mechanism opera fw... rotatable abouttheii own.' aXesJandjmeansf reverse gearing with saidadjusting means,l

for completely rotating the-"blades atwvill ja pair oil? brakes adapted toengage saidvroin either direction from any given position while thepropeller'-A revolving continuously in lthe saine 'direction'. j

13. Aj'ipropeller 'havingY blades rotatabley through at least 180O abouttheinownaxes,'jv a power shaft on' which said# ropeller is* leA Aby5 vsaid brake tating in either direction,l and a single lever for selectively shifting said brakes.

Q0. A propeller having angularly adjustable blades,- means associated with each blade for angularly adjusting the same, a lpair of drums normally rotating with the power shaft oijjrotating thehlades while-propeller, and operatively connected through the propelleiffis j in motion' [to *reverse the: effect thereof, said `Vmechanism comprising manually movable means normally .jout 'of contact with the bladerotatingmeans 14. A' propeller` having at'the base `ofeach blade means for rotatingtheblade` onA itsAk reverse gearing with said adjusting means,

a pair of brakes adapted to engage said rotating drums, to actuate t-he adjusting means lirection, and lever means for selectively shifting said brakes.

" 21. rlhe coinbinatioiiwith a hub, of a pro-` drums to actuate the adjusting means own axis, 'anni-directional# rotary' source peller blade mounted therein for rotation of power, and controllable meansincludf ing said sourceyof power` and reversing 1 gearing, orjoperating said rotating means in eitherfdiijection.'

15. A propellerhavng able blades, and'meansl said means comprisingV reversingV gearing* ncludingaA chainiand sprocket lwheels, and a uni-directional'rotary` source of-power for operating said reversinggearing.' f Y 16. A" propeller having angularly adjustable blades, means` associated' with each blade for angularlyiadjusting the saine, a"` pair of 'elements rotating with the propeller' and operatively connected' through reverse gearing with said :adjusting means, andaA pair of' non-rotaryjdeviees adapted to se-` lectively 'engagez said rotating elements vto i actuate thejadjusting means in either direction. "j 17. A ypropeller having 'angularly adj ust-u able blades, means associated with each'blade for angularly adjiisting the same, relatively fixed elements and "`elenientsjnormal1yf rotating 'with the "propeller and :operatively connectedwithisaid adjusting means, all ofsaid rotating .elements `being normally entirely outofcontact with 'allffixed` elements,- whereby 'running friction is"avoided, and means Vtor bringing one of said relatively'q fixed elements intoV operative engagement with one of said rotating elements, when desired, to actnatesaidfadjusting means; A18. Aflpropeller having ang'iilarly adjustable blades. means associated witheach blade vfor angularlyadjusting the sainea pair otbrake drums normally rotating with the propeller. 'and' operatively connected.l through reverse gearing withsaid adjusting means.. and a pair rof brakes adapted 'selectivelv engage Vsaidrotating drumsto' yaetuatethe adjusting means in either direc-v tion. i

19. A.. propellerfhaving angularly adjustable blades, means "associated with each blade for angularly adju'stingthes'ame, apair 0f .brakeirams .normallwowtns with the ,r propeller, and operatively connected through angularly adjustonits own axis, and gearing for so rotating said blade, said gearingincluding a pair of lworms having right and left threads 1 mounted on the same axis, and a pair ot oppositely disposed worm wheels meshing ior adjusting them," *with said worms.

The coii'ibination with a hub, of a propeller blade mounted therein for rotation on its own axis, gearing located inside the hub and extending outside thereof andy including a worm and worm wheel, serving to hold the blade injadjusted'position.

23. The combination witha hub, of a propeller blade mounted therein for rotation on its own axis, and gearing for rotating said blade, said gearing including a worm .having crossed threads, and apair of oppositely disposed worm wheels meshing therewith.

V 24. The combination with a hub, of a prot peller blade mounted therein for f rotation on its ownaxis, and gearing for rotating ysaid blade, said gearing comprising an internal annular vgeary secured to? said blade, a pinion meshing therewith, `a worm wheel rigid Vwith said pinion', and a worm engaging said worm wheel.

25. Thercombination with a hub, of a prof pellen-blade mounted therein for rotation on its own axis, and gearing for rotating said blade, saidgearing comprising an in`V` ternal annulargear secured to said blade. a`

pair pinions-nieshing therewith, a worin Vwheel rigid with each pinion, and a worm having crossed threads disposed between and meshing with'k said worin wheels.

26. The combination with a hub, of apropeller blade mountedtherein for rotation on its own iaxis,and gearing for'rotating said blade, said gearingr comprising an annular gear. a pair of pinions `me`shing therewith,

threads disposed between said wheels and H airof .worm wheels respectively secured to fsaidf'pinions," and a worm having crossed meshing therewith7- one of said Wheels enatively fixed element normally out of Contact gaging one thread, and one the other thread. With said first named element, and means 10 27. A propeller having a hub, a rotating -for bringing said elements into operative member to Whieh said hub is rigidly secured, engagement when desired to actuate said ad- 5 adjustable blades Carried by said hub, means justing means.

for adjusting said blades comprising an ele- In testimony whereof I affix my signa- Inent supported directly on and Wholly by ture.

said member and rotatable therewith, a rel- SPENCER HEATH. 

